Wagner, SD

On February 27th the Community Beautification Committee had it’s first meeting.  The meeting was a one hour meeting to discuss plans for this summer’s projects.  12 people were present for the meeting. 

Some of the initial ideas the group had before the meeting were:  To designate areas through town and along hwy 46 to plant flowers, bushes, grasses…; To encourage businesses to plant something on their grounds, or provide us with the items and we will plant it for them…; Hanging baskets at the 4-way stop…; A yard of the week, month or other, program.

Through the hour long discussion the group has decided to make the greatest impact by doing these things:  Rather than doing planters here and there through town we have decided on 2 major areas to make a greater effect.  One on the east edge of town and one on the west.  Our city officials will still check with the State to see what we can do at the 4-way stop- as there will be regulations we would have to follow.  The committee will continue to encourage businesses and homeowners to do something.  Part of this encouragement will come from the Yard of the Week program.  The town will be devided into 4 quadrants and a winner will be awarded each week from each of the quadrants.  The FFA will make yard signs for us to use.  And we will be putting their pictures in the Wagner Post.  We will also be bringing businesses into the program as it will not just be homes.  The guidelines will be better drawn out in the next couple of weeks.

We will be applying for some grant money through a SD Community Grant program and the Wagner Community Grant.  And of course will be looking for donations of time, energy and money! 

Right now when you look outside it’s hard to imagine all things green, birds singing and not wearing layers!  But soon the seasons will change, as is a sure thing in South Dakota, and this project will be a great way to make our city shine!  It’s taking pride and showing that we care about our community and every-person who passes through! 

If you have any ideas please contact us!  Linda Soukup @ 384-5575 or Dawn Bures @ 384-4175.  Thanks!!

Based on high maintenance costs, physical deteriation of the swimming pool and declining attendance over the past several years, the City Council has been discussing the future of the Wagner Swimming Pool. The City wants and needs your input about how you feel about the swimming pool and possible closure.

Please get involved and bring forth your concerns and ideas for a public meeting on February 13th, 2008, at Wagner City Hall at 7:00 pm.

If you have any further questions, please contact the City Finance Office at 384-3741.

Wagner hosted the fourth annual State “B” Wrestling Dual tournament on Saturday, January 26, 2008, with thirteen teams from throughout the state participating.   The event was well organized and proved to be very exciting.  There were numerous talented athletes involved - all displaying great sportsmanship and having fun. 

To host this event is a great honor and opportunity for Wagner; it allows us to invite athletes, coaches and fans to our community and enjoy all we have to offer. We hope they enjoyed their stay and are excited about coming back soon.

Some interested citizens in Wagner have formed an assisted living committee to look into the possibility of starting an Assisted Living Facility in Wagner. After a successful first assisted living committee meeting held at Heritage Court in November, I hope we can build on that momentum and have a successful follow-up discussion. The next meeting will be on January 21^st, at 12 p.m. at Boom’s. At this meeting, we will try to pinpoint and summarize what the residents of the Wagner community really want and need from an assisted living facility. We will also discuss scheduling visits to different assisted living centers.

We have recently been made aware of a tremendous resource that is FREE to all communities. South Dakota Rural Enterprise. It is a non-profit organization based in Sioux Falls. Beth Davis is the President. Wagner Area Growth (our economic development organization) hosted Beth and her associate about three months ago and the Wagner Rotary Club recently had Beth for a program at their weekly meeting. SDRE has several programs available to South Dakota communitites, one of which is Leadership Plenty. Heard that phrase before? Of course! They have other training opportunities and informational sources such as Growing Opportunities and Resources from Within; Trade Secrets for Development Organizations; and Creating a Value Added Community. Every community in South Dakota and especially those of us who have gone through the Horizons Program should contact the SDRE for a visit to your community. You will be impressed with their knowledge and caring attitude. They can give your community information and direction. All you have to do is call! Here’s hoping Wagner takes advantage of their resources soon! Check out www.sdrei.org

Residents of the city of Wagner will have the option to go to the polls on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 to vote on a referred ordinance that will allow Wagner to operate their own electric utility. 

Voting is at Wagner’s City Hall from 7am-7pm; please bring photo identification.

The law in South Dakota  gives each city the option to operate their own electric utility.  This ordinance creates the Wagner Municipal Electric Utility.  If approved the city intends to operate its own electric utility to provide the service to the residents of Wagner. 

A YES vote means that you agree with and support the ordinance and are in favor of the City of Wagner creating a municipal utility to replace the present provider.  A NO vote means that you disagree with and do not support this ordinance, and are not in favor of creating Wagner Municipal Electric Utility. 

This information taken from the Wagner Post, Volume 103 Number 1

Remember those “FUN” pre and post surveys that the Horizons Staff had you take during Study Circles and LeadershipPLENTY?

Believe it or not - it was for a purpose!  Those pre and post surveys help us to understand how much your community learned about poverty and about leadership by your participation in those specified curriculums.

As a result, we have assembled a community profile with the results of the pre and post surveys for both Study Circles and LeadershipPLENTY.  Check out your community results by clicking on the links found under “Survey Data” on the right hand side of your community blog.  

Contact Dawn Bures @ 491-1370.  I will be glad to help you use this site!

The more involved we all are now the better our community will be each day forward!!